Get To Know Your Hurricane Terms

Tropical Storm Watches and Warnings: Take these alerts seriously. Although Tropical Storms have lower wind speeds than hurricanes, they often bring life-threatening flooding and dangerous winds. Take precautions!

A Hurricane Watch is issued by the National Weather Service about 36 hours prior to hurricane conditions threatening the coastal area. Everyone in the area covered by the watch should listen for further advisories and be prepared to act promptly if a hurricane warning or relocation is recommended.

A Hurricane Warning is issued when hurricane winds of 74 miles per hour or higher or dangerously high water and rough seas are expected within 24 hours. When a Hurricane Warning is issued for your area:

The Saffir-Simpson Scale divides hurricanes into five categories. These categories are: